With at least a third of 15-year-olds falling victim, is it time for anti-bullying laws in Hong Kong?
The city is the worst performer in an international survey on the percentage of children being bullied at least a few times a month. With a fiercely competitive education system, growing cyberbullying, and special needs children vulnerable in mainstream schools, calls are growing for tougher legislation
Samuel, 14, is partially deaf in one ear, and sometimes cannot hear what his schoolmates are saying or has difficulty expressing himself. He also has a lazy eye.
He became a magnet for bullies from the time he was in primary school.
“When I was in Primary Three, during a visual arts class, a few of my classmates threw hardened clay at my head,” recalled Samuel, which is not his real name.
On other occasions, bullies filled his school bag with sewage left over from an experiment, and pushed him down a flight of stairs when he refused to disclose a secret.
The bullying continued in secondary school, where it came accompanied by foul language. Samuel’s grades slid, he began missing classes, and when he became lethargic and easily agitated, he was hospitalised and diagnosed with depression.
